If you’ve been struggling to keep your kids learning and entertained while they whine “I’m bored”, “can I watch TV?” or “will you play with me?” as you work from home and attempt to get some quiet time and keep the entire house (along with your sanity) together, today’s post is for you!
When social distancing began and rumors started trickling in about schools potentially closing for the remainder of the year, we made the decision to stock up on arts, crafts and other activities to keep our sweet little 6-year-old daughter happy and occupied. We committed to the idea of giving her 1 new craft project every other day for as long as we were ordered to shelter in place and spend out days indoors. These came in particularly handy as the first 2 weeks didn’t involve school lesson plans and parents were left to figure out a homeschooling curriculum on their own. As soon as Lily wakes up (which is usually between 5:30am-6:30am), we give her a craft first thing to start the day along with breakfast so we each have quiet ‘work from home’ time before her online distance learning class begins. It’s been such a fun way to break up the day and gives her something to look forward to.
I’m sharing the top 22 kids craft projects & activities that we have purchased online for her, revealing which ones have been her favorite so far. I’m breaking them down into 2 parts: girls crafts and then the remainder of unisex crafts (these fit the age 5-10 category)
10 CRAFTS FOR GIRLS:
1. Jewelry Making Kit- We ended up purchasing 5 different jewelry making kits ranging from Disney princesses and frozen to more difficult kits with smaller beads which allow for more creativity. This is Lily’s favorite of the bunch which allowed her to make necklaces as well as bracelets that look a bit more grown up. She loves being able to gift her friends with bracelets by mail that she had made from her various kits.
2. Princess Stamping Kit- Every child I know loves stamping and what makes this kit fun is that it also comes with pencil crayons so that the pictures can be filled in and made unique each time.
3. Light Up Fashion Tracing Pad- This has been a favorite for my little fashionista who also happens to love horses. The tracing templates contain both horses with a variety of tales, manes and of course countless outfits, hair styles, accessories and more with a runway backdrop complete with coloring pencils. This one has kept her entertained at home as well as the car during the odd trip we’ve had to make during quarantine.
4. Fashion Designer Studio Kit- This kit is a dream for every little girl who enjoys dressing up and has already shown an interest in making doll clothes and fashion in general. Lily loves pinning fabric onto the dress mannequin so she can measure, cut and refine each look.
5. Easy Unicorn Pillow- For those who cannot sew or you don’t want to be handling a needle and thread yet, this is the perfect project! It’s a pre-sewn unicorn that you stuff and close up with colored flannel strips to make the mane. Lily has slept with her pillow many times and plays with it in her fort.
6. Flower Crown Making Kit- A no-mess project at home or on the go resulting in pretty flower crowns that are fun to make and beautiful to wear.
7. Painting Ceramic Unicorns- This kit came with 2 different unicorns and several paint pots including metallic paint which was perfect for the horn. What I loved was that this craft took her a while to paint each and I was able to work as she quietly painted and didn’t need any help with it.
8. Fairy Magical Cottage Garden- This kit is super cute and is a fun addition to a porch or backyard garden area so that your little miss has her own little fairy space that she plants herself and can tend to and watch it grow. I like that it can be enjoyed for months to come and is something that she can take care of which teaches responsibility.
9. Beginner’s Sewing Kit- This kit was a huge hit! I definitely had to help with the cutting of the felt and show her how to actually sew, but after a few mins she got the hang of it. This is definitely a fun parent-child activity but I still had quiet time to work for a bit sitting beside her as she wanted to finish the sewing and stuffing herself. The instruction booklet is detailed and there are several patterns, it can be used again and again.
10. How to Draw Book- While watching YouTube videos has been a great tool to teach Lily how to draw, I wanted her to follow another method using quadrants for practicing drawing characters and this girly book was the best option with unicorns and mermaids which are her favorite right now.
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10 ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS:
1. Magic Clay- I think it’s safe to say that we got our money’s worth from this kit! It has been the most used so far and I love that it has 24 different colors to make a wide array of creations. It contains key chains and other loops so kids can clip it to their backpack or elsewhere.
2. Painted Window Art- One of the first things we saw popping up during quarantine were drawings in the window’s of homes where little ones lived. Lily has a grid of her own drawings in our dining area facing the walkway and this is one more fun tool to add a child’s creativity and brighten the day of passersby. Working at the dining table it’s been sweet seeing many people walk by and point to her happy little creations.
3. Smarty Pants Trivia- While this isn’t a craft, this activity is a great way to keep kids engaged and having fun while learning interesting facts and testing their knowledge at their current grade level. Lily is in first grade so that is the one we chose for her.
4. Wikki Stix- We were first introduced to these little bendable wax sticks at a restaurant in Hawaii that handed them out. We later bought her a travel kit that she’s used while we’ve dined out at restaurants, while on longer road trips, at home and at friend’s houses to keep her entertained. This newest addition was to top up her pack and comes with a huge variety of colors-I even like playing with them!
5. Kinetic Sand- Perfect for those who don’t have a sandbox and can’t get to the beach! Even if you can do both, this sand is clean, sticks together and is ultimately like beach sand that never dries out. It also comes in pink, purple and other colors but I like products without coloring as much as possible so I opted for this kit with castle tools complete with a king and queen. We have since bought another bag of the sand to double the amount of fun!
6. Domino Blocks- Just because a child might be too young for the actual game of dominoes doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy setting up an knocking down beautiful patterns. Lily uses these to build towers too, I love that they are multi-colored and this little tote keeps them contained and easy to store.
7. Rubix Cube- This may not be for every child, but after finding out that mommy and daddy both had one growing up, Lily asked for one and has been fascinated by it. It kept her busy for an hour the first day we gave it to her. Ha Ha. The bonus is that us adults still like challenging ourselves with it, so it’s fun for our whole family.
8. My First Origami Kit- Lily has been watching a ton of YouTube videos to teach herself to make different origami so we decided it was time for a little kit and I love that this one has animal patterns that match the animals such as a turtle shell, mouse fur etc. This is a great parent-child project and once they get the hang of it can fly solo.
9. Assorted Craft Box- We didn’t have any specific craft materials on hand other than drawing tools and construction paper so I thought it was time to add a bit more to the mix and this has allowed Lily to make some really cute creations.
10. Artist’s Kit- We’ve been through several of these over the years, but no quarantine is complete without a kit of paints, markers, crayons and all the essentials for drawing and creating. This kit is really affordable and can be shared by multiple kits and is perfect to take on the go.
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Let’s Socialize!
I’m always looking for new activities and crafts to keep our sweet girl busy, so I’d love to hear what some of your favorite activities are for keeping your own kiddos happy and entertained.
XO
Karla
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